HB279 • 2026

Teachers; timeline and process for increasing salaries to at least national average.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to establish a timeline and process for increasing the average teacher salary in the Commonwealth.</p>

Budget Education

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Clark
Last action: 2026-02-18
Official status: Failed
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about the process of projecting future salary needs or calculating current-year average teacher salaries.

Increasing Teacher Salaries to National Average

This bill requires Virginia's Governor to propose funding in budget bills for increasing teacher salaries to at least the national average by the end of fiscal year 2029.

What This Bill Does

Requires the Governor to include funding proposals in budget bills for the years 2027 and 2028 to raise teacher salaries to match or exceed the national average by the end of fiscal year 2029.

Who It Names or Affects

Teachers in the Commonwealth of Virginia
The Governor's budget proposals for fiscal years 2027 and 2028

Terms To Know

Standards of Quality-funded instructional positions: Positions that receive funding based on state educational standards.
General Appropriation Act: A law that allocates funds for various government programs and services.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens if the required funding is not provided.
It relies on projections based on current data, which may change over time.

Bill History

2026-02-18 House
Left in Committee Appropriations
2026-01-28 House
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB279)
2026-01-28 House
Fiscal Impact statement From CLG (1/28/2026 11:02 am)
2026-01-09 House
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101867D
2026-01-09 Appropriations
Referred to Committee on Appropriations

Official Summary Text

Average teacher salary in the Commonwealth; national average.
Requires the Governor's introduced budget bills for the 2027 and 2028 Regular Sessions of the General Assembly to propose funding for, and state funding to be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act enacted during any regular or special session of the General Assembly during 2027 or 2028 to fund, the Commonwealth's share of compensation supplement incentives for Standards of Quality-funded instructional and support positions sufficient to increase the average teacher salary in the Commonwealth to at least the national average teacher salary by the end of fiscal year 2029 and establishes a detailed timeline and process for satisfying such requirement.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

A BILL to establish a timeline and process for increasing the average teacher salary in the Commonwealth.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.
§ 1.
The Governor's introduced budget bills for the 202
7
and 202
8
Regular Sessions of the General Assembly shall propose funding for, and state funding shall be provided pursuant to the general appropriation act enacted during any regular or special session of the General Assembly
during
202
7
or 202
8
to fund, the Commonwealth's share of compensation supplement incentives for Standards of Quality-funded instructional and support positions sufficient to increase the average teacher salary in the Commonwealth to at least the national average

teacher salary by the end of
fiscal year 2029
.

§ 2. In order to project the national average salary in fiscal year 2
029
for the purpose of

calculating the proposed and funded amounts as required pursuant to § 1, the most recent

actual or estimated national average teacher salary published from the source used in the Joint

Legislative Audit and Review Commission's
Virginia Compared to the Other States

report shall be

utilized but adjusted by the actual and forecasted percentage change in the United States

Average Consumer Price Index for all items, all urban consumers (CPI-U).

§ 3. In order to project the current-year average teacher salary in the Commonwealth for the

purpose of calculating the proposed and funded amounts as required pursuant to § 1, the most

recent actual average teacher salary in the Commonwealth published by the source used

in the Joint Legislative Audit
and
Review Commission's
Virginia Compared to the Other States

report shall be utilized but adjusted to recognize prior compensation increases from the state,

assuming
that
localities accept and implement a full match for Standards of Quality pay increases.

§ 4. The minimum compensation supplement that shall be proposed in the Governor's

introduced budget bills and provided pursuant to the general appropriation act as described in §

1 shall be structured as follows: such supplement for the 202
7
session shall provide one-half of the increase required pursuant to § 1 for fiscal year 202
8
and such supplement for the 202
8

session shall provide
the remaining
one-half of the increase required pursuant to § 1 for fiscal year 202
9
.